Tele-consultation

Tele-diagnosis, which involves a medical specialist performing a diagnosis on a patient, where each are in different geographical locations, has its needs both in human spaceflight and exploration as well as in diverse terrestrial situations, where there is no simple access to a specialist at the place of need.

With human spaceflight it is not possible, to perform in situ diagnosis because the specialist is normally on the ground, and the astronaut is in space; the importance of an accurate diagnosis is of paramount importance because if the difficulty of getting the astronaut back to Earth for treatment.

There are wide synergies between the problems encountered making tele-diagnosis in human spaceflight and those on the Earth; the solutions can be very similarly applied. The applications of tele-diagnostics technologies and services on the ground are wide:

On one extreme a preliminary diagnosis of a patient being transported by an ambulance can allow the patient to be swiftly carried to the appropriate hospital, which can make the difference between life and death.

Other scenarios could be helping to make the right decision whether or not to transport a patient in a remote area in the first place to a hospital, a feat that could be costly and stressful.

Other applications could involve continuous monitoring of chronic or aged patients at home, allowing regular diagnostic sessions per tele-communication thus allowing the patient to remain home rather than in hospital over long periods.

A list of recent and current projects supported by ESA is given below.

AMAZON - Real-time satellite-based telemedicine service for professional clinical users in remote locations
AMAZON is a project based on the utilisation of a compact device for vital-sign monitoring and remote diagnosis(dual use: traditional monitoring and telemedicine) involving multiple space assets for professional clinical users in remote locations. Contact: health @ esa.int More info »»

T4MOD - Remote assistance for medical teams deployed abroad
T4MOD aims at desinging and validating a Telemedicine system conceived for the MoDs of France, Germany, Italy and Spain based on an interoperable IP overlay satellite network associated to an intelligent end-to-end communication platform, capable to support different medical specialities. Contact: health @ esa.int More info »»

Tele-echography - Remote diagnostics via tele-robotic echography
To develop a robotic tele-manipulation system enabling a medical expert to remotely perform ultrasound examinations on a patient in the International Space Station (ISS) or in isolated contexts on earth. Contact: health @ esa.int More info »»

SIMONA - Collaboration between two hospitals on paediatric oncology
A collaborative infrastructure to enable two hospitals in Rome & Baghdad to teach new protocols, assess clinical outcomes, provide second opinion, support clinical research. Contact: health @ esa.int More info »»

SHARED - First generation telemedicine videoconference platform
A telemedicine system based on DICE video-conference platform and LAN bridging connecting a hospital in Rome and a field hospital team in Sarajevo. Contact: health @ esa.int More info »»

TELANY - Telemedicine Anyware
Telemedicine support for routine care, pathological needs, & continuous follow up of patients at their location, as well as emergency and on-field telemedicine scenarios in extreme cases.Contact: health @ esa.int More info »»